Sustainability disclosure has been a core pillar of sustainable finance regulation, especially in Europe. The theory that “what gets measured gets done” has encouraged regulators dramatically to expand sustainability disclosures ranging from relatively straightforward disclosures about historic sustainability KPIs to forward-looking disclosures relating to transition plans or green taxonomies.
But there’s an active debate both in academia and in the worlds of business and policy about the role of sustainability disclosure in encouraging change towards more sustainable corporate behaviour.
On the one hand there’s a view that transparency creates a level of focus and accountability that facilitates change. On the other there’s a view that it is a costly side-show or, worse, a distraction from real-world sustainability action.
LSE researchers Dr. Simon Witney, Professor Tom Gosling and Dr. Richard Perkins, with the help of Hilary Eastman are conducting a research study to explore the role of disclosure in the context of UK mandatory climate disclosures.
Through a mixture of academic literature review, stakeholder interviews and surveys the project will seek to:
- Assess how companies and investors respond to mandatory climate disclosures, the extent to which they change their actions as a result of such disclosures, and why.
- Evaluate the costs and benefits of different disclosure initiatives and seek to draw lessons about the disclosure approaches that are most effective and the appropriate future focus for regulators.
As part of this study, we are interviewing companies to gain insight into how mandatory disclosures effect (or not) what companies do.
The research team is looking to interview senior individuals in listed and unlisted companies that are subject to mandatory climate disclosure requirements, including SECR and TCFD. We are particularly interested in the views of:
- Board chairs and NEDs
- CFOs and other senior members of the finance function
- Company Secretary
- Chief Sustainability Officer
- Operational leadership
All information obtained through interviews will be fully anonymised.
This project is jointly funded by the Responsible Investing Initiative and the Global School of Sustainability.
If you would like to participate please contact Dr Simon Witney at s.r.witney@lse.ac.uk
